iTunes Radio is set to debut in September. The strength behind this launch is having 10 years of history, 575 million registered users worldwide and 25 billion songs downloaded. Clients such as McDonald’s, Nissan, Pepsi and Proctor & Gamble all have secured advertising seats through the year. These clients are part of the testing phase which will allow Apple to figure out the best way to sell ad space. In January there will be a very small window of opportunity for a second set of annual advertisers to buy into this testing phase.

iTunes will only support the iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, iPad mini, Mac, PCs, and Apple TV so there is no need to download an app. All apple devices carry iTunes as a default service. At this time users will be served 1 audio ad every 15 minutes and 1 video ad every hour. Video ads will be served during user engagement periods, such as logging on, skipping a track, etc. The larger the device screen the more expensive the ad will cost. Apple TV will garnish the highest ad cost while iPhone ads will require the least.

Throughout the testing phase iTunes will determine what will create the best success for both advertisers and listeners. Currently users can select one of iTunes Radio’s Featured Stations, create their own stations, or explore more than 200 genre-focused stations. Like Pandora, users can pay a fee for a commercial-free subscription.

iAd is how the company will purchase ads. It has not grabbed a lot of market share away from Google or Facebook selling display ads, but iTunes Radio will give it the opportunity to sell video and audio ads. iAd has proprietary targeting tools, developed from registration data, device usage and media preferences. Only iTunes Radio allows you to leverage the full capabilities of broadcast and digital radio, combined with the unique targeting capabilities of iAd. Since it’s built into iTunes Radio for each device, advertisers will have a portfolio of ad formats, including audio, video and interactive display, with which to engage listeners.

This is the time to negotiate DEALS for 2014, if you have interest in getting in on the January iTunes testing phase please contact TRA asap. We will put our best foot forward to create a digital campaign that is cost effective as becoming a partner in beta test program.

Tami Freeman is the Media Director of The Radio Agency. Please follow The Radio Agency’s Blog “Sounding Board” by subscribing to the email or RSS links above.Visit our website TheRadioAgency.com